Desperate Times
by Heaven In A Wild Flower
Summary: Set after "Desperate Measures", a mission reveals that Sam isn't the only one dealing with the aftermath of her kidnapping.
1. Chapter 1

_**Set shortly after the events of "Desperate Measures". A gift for fems for the S/J Secret Santa on GW.**_

Sam checked her watch once more. It wasn't like the colonel to be late for a mission. Just as she looked up to ask Daniel again if he had any idea why he would be late, the door to the 'gateroom slid back to reveal said colonel still trying to get into his vest.

"Everything okay Jack?" Daniel asked the question that was on Sam and Teal'c's faces too.

"Indeed O'Neill, Daniel Jackson is usually the one to be seen arriving late for our missions" said Teal'c with a slight smirk.

"Nice T, everything is fine. Just didn't set my new alarm clock right apparently. Shall we get going now?" Jack's tone was short. As he drew closer, the rest of his team could clearly see the lines from a restless night across his face. They all started walking up the ramp towards the newly formed wormhole.

"Are you sure you're all right sir? We can put this mission off if..." But before Sam could finish her sentence the colonel turned and cut her off.

"Everything is _fine_ Carter, just leave it." The response was much sharper than they were used to and Daniel and Teal'c shared a concerned look as Sam dropped her head in embarrassment. "Sorry sir" she mumbled as they stepped up to the 'gate.

The rain struck the faces of SG-1 as soon as they stepped from the 'gate on the other side. They were in a small clearing that encompassed the 'gate and the DHD. The trees around them were oppressive, their large leaves funnelling the water pouring from the heavens straight to the ground and onto them. The team's breath created clouds of condensation around them in the cool air and the smell of the damp ground was pungent.

"Oh well this is just perfect." Jack yelled through the rain. "Isn't the MALP supposed to show stuff like this up Carter?" The question was more of an accusation and it showed on Sam's face.

"Yes sir, but when we checked the telemetry just before we came through, it wasn't raining. In fact the weather was clear from what we could see." She yelled back. The team dropped their bags and pulled on their ponchos. Sam pulled out her scanner and began to sweep around the immediate area.

"Carter can't we come back another time? We're not going to get far in this weather." Jack was standing by the DHD ready to dial them back to Earth.

"I'm sorry sir, but the energy signature that we picked up with the MALP is intermittent and Daniel and I think that it could disappear if we don't find it soon. The source can't be that far from the gate." Sam looked to Daniel for back-up and Jack followed her gaze. Daniel, while squinting and trying to clean his glasses, nodded fervently.

Admitting defeat, Jack pulled his poncho down further and adjusted his backpack - "Fine".

"Sir, the signature is going to be much easier to pinpoint if we split up. Daniel knows what to look for and it should halve the amount of time we have to spend in this rain." It seemed Sam had said the magic words as Jack agreed to the plan with a quick nod.

"T, go with Daniel and make sure he doesn't end up in a bog. Radio check-in every ten minutes." The Jaffa agreed with a nod and the pair headed out into the forest.

-.-.-.-.-.-

The colonel and the major trudged on in silence. It had been nearly an hour and the pair had barely said a word to each other despite Sam's attempts at eliciting a response of any kind from Jack. Sam looked continually between her scanning device and the path she was trying to follow through the trees. Her commanding officer walked carefully behind her, keeping an eye out for anything that could be following them.

"No!" The exasperated utterance slipped from Sam's mouth before she could stop it.

"Major? Something wrong?" He stopped behind the still form of the major, taking the time to wipe his face.

"The signal, it's disappeared."

"Disappeared? How does a signal just disappear?"

"I told you that it had been intermittent, I was hoping that we would find the source before it dropped off again but apparently we missed it." The aggravation was clear in her tone and also a tinge of disappointment.

"Great. Well does that mean we can at least head back to the 'gate?" The colonel didn't do a good job of hiding the satisfaction from her.

"Yes sir. We would have heard from Teal'c and Daniel if they'd had any luck with the source. We can analyse the data we do have better at the SGC then send out another team once this rain has stopped." They both turned back down the path they had followed for the last hour.

"Daniel, Teal'c come in." Jack leant down to his radio.

"_Hey Jack, I guess you lost the signal too?" _

"Yeah, Carter thinks we should go back to the SGC. We'll meet you and Teal'c at the Stargate. O'Neill out."

"_Understood. See you soon." _The radio clicked off.

"Come on then Carter, before we start melting."

Carter hoped that a _Wizard of Oz_ reference meant the colonel's mood had lightened slightly.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Not far now sir." said Carter trying to lighten the mood between herself and her CO.

"Yeah well I'll just wait until we actually step through that 'gate before feeling better. Don't count your chickens and all that..." And before Jack had even finished his sentence they saw that the small river they'd forded earlier had turned into a raging torrent. "See this is exactly the kind of thing that _would _happen today." The flow of the water reflected the anger in Jack's tone.

"There's no way that we're going to be able to cross that sir. We'll have to walk back upstream to see if there's somewhere better to get to the other side." The trepidation was clear in Sam's voice – she obviously didn't want to be any further cause of annoyance to Jack. "I'm sorry sir." She added.

"You're sorry? What for Major? For leading us on a wild goose chase or for getting us stuck in the rain for another few hours? For suggesting a completely useless mission that has wasted our time and the SGC's? Which exact part of all that are you sorry for?" Jack was yelling at her through the sheets of water pouring around them, his position a little down the bank from Sam put his eyes at the same level as hers. They flashed with anger and something intangible. He turned and started to retrace the track beside the river.

"Sir, with respect, you have no right to speak to me like that. You know damn well that this was not my fault so why the hell are you yelling at me? What's really going on? I know it's not just because you were late this morning or because it's raining? So just tell me." She was angry and it showed, her courage depending on that anger.

He stopped in his tracks, surprised by the outburst from his second in command and even more surprised by the genuine concern in her voice. But he still couldn't bring himself to tell her what it was that was troubling him. She didn't need to know.

"I don't care if I've hurt your feelings _Major_, I don't need to tell you anything so let's just carry on and get home, okay?" The reply was even more bitter than the onslaught from before.

"Yes _sir_." Sam said as she brushed past him, stomping on through the thick undergrowth that bordered the torrent below them. She didn't see Jack drag his hands over his head and she certainly didn't hear the groan over the sound of the water around them.

They kept moving along the river bank, neither of them uttering a word as they continued to look for a suitable place to cross. Sam stepped around a wide tree in their path but as she did so the sodden dark earth gave way between her feet and she tumbled down the bank towards the river. It happened so quickly that she couldn't even call out.

"Carter!"

Jack scrabbled to edge of the solid ground looking down towards the rushing water below expecting to see his major in the torrent but instead finding her hanging desperately onto a root several feet below where she'd fallen. The bank wasn't particularly steep but with all the water running around her, the ground was slick. However, Samantha Carter had never been a damsel in distress and apparently didn't plan on being one any time soon either – she had already started to heave herself up the slope towards the path. As soon as she was within reach, Jack grabbed Sam below her arms and hauled her up over the edge and to safe ground.

Now they both stood, breathing heavily from the effort, suddenly very aware of their proximity.

"Thank-you sir," said Sam stiffly pulling back. She took a step and winced, stumbling at the same time and nearly falling back down the bank. Jack grabbed her again, pulling her back up to him.

"I'm fine sir, really, just a twisted ankle, it'll be fine in a minute." She refused to look him in the face, the anger was radiating from her like the heat from a fire. But Jack still wouldn't let go, he held her arms tightly, too tightly almost. He didn't say a word but stared at her, looking intently as if he were trying to find something.

"Sir, let go. I'm not a child I can support my own weight." She was stern but Sam was also completely baffled by this behaviour. Minutes passed. "Sir, what's going on? Please. Just tell me." Her face was turned towards his, her eyes meeting his. Jack's eyes were haunted and unrelenting.

"I couldn't find you." The words were quiet and he still didn't really engage with her.

"What do you mean? I'm right here sir."

"Not here. The hospital. Every night it's the same. I can't find you. But then... That room... And... You're lying there. You don't move. You're..." He gulped as if he couldn't take in enough oxygen.

The kidnapping. God knew that Sam had had her own set of nightmares about that hospital and the crazed doctors trying to cut her up. But Jack had saved her, he'd been there with impeccable timing as always. Why would he have nightmares about that?

"But I'm here, I'm fine. I'm fine." She shook him gently, trying to get through to the man caught up in flashes of things that never were. He surfaced slowly, leaving the night time visions below and reaching the fresh air of reality. He held her eyes, the only things that held him above the terrible sea of what could have been.

"I thought I'd lost you Carter." The anger and fear had gone, replaced by honesty and sorrow. The rain and mud surrounding them was forgotten, they were both swept up in a flurry of emotions long suppressed. Now she clung to him as tightly as he did to her.

"But you found me. I was fine. Thanks to you." She smiled slightly remembering her relief and happiness at seeing him burst into that room. Sam knew she was the only one who could convince him that it was over.

"I know it's stupid. I know that you're fine but the dreams are just so real. Every time I get there too late, you're already..." Again he couldn't utter the word. To say it would make it surface from that sea of muddled images and bring it into reality in a way he couldn't face. Sam took his hand from her arm, his grip loosening enough to allow the movement. She placed his hand on her wrist, moving it so his fingers would feel the racing pulse beneath the surface.

"Feel this? I'm alive. I'm safe. You did this. Countless times. You've kept me alive."

The feel of her strong pulse beneath his fingers pulled Jack the rest of the way from his waking nightmare. The tactile sensation enough to make him realise how close he was to this woman, how he could feel her warm breath on his cheek, the heat that stole through her soaked clothing to his hand that held her other arm. She'd lost her poncho somewhere down the bank and was now standing dripping wet before him. Her eyes were clear and bright with concern, the rain running down her face in streams. His eyes followed those streams down to her lips, flushed red with the exertion of the previous minutes. He watched as her breath hitched under his close scrutiny of her face.

"Jack?" The tone was questioning but heavy, conveying any number of things.

He pushed her against the tree behind her, the twisted ankle forgotten. He moved his face within an inch of hers. Sam's eyes were now darting between his lips and his eyes. Jack kept his left hand around her wrist, two fingers on the pulse that had quickened. His right arm moved up from hers to her neck, caressing the wet skin above her jacket softly.

There were no words needed to explain his actions. The need to feel the life in her, the way she had said his name. Jack crushed his body against hers, the gentle curves deliciously apparent through her soaking uniform. Sam was soft beneath him, allowing herself the luxury of this. It was something straight out of her dreams and this allowed her to forget the reality of the last few weeks. Sam's eyes closed as she let this man take the lead.

Jack's head lowered further as his eyes locked on the rosy lips before him.

"Jack?" The radio clicked. Sam's eyes flew open as reality kicked in with one little sound. She found Jack's eyes. The disappointment was clear. He dropped his head.

"Guys?" Daniel's timing was as good as Jack's.

"Yes Daniel?" Jack replied. He stepped back from Sam.

"We were wondering how much longer you were going to be?" Sam pushed herself up from the tree trunk, a bright blush was creeping up her neck and face.

"Not too much longer. Half an hour. We should be able to cross the river soon." Jack didn't take his eyes from Sam. The disappointment still darkened his features.

"Oh okay. Well, we'll be here. Waiting. In the rain." A pause. "Is everything okay?"

"We had a little trouble but everything's fine now. We're alive." Sam's head bounced up and the blush retreated. A look of compassion and love passed over her face as she held Jack's gaze.

"Okay... Well tell us about it when you get back. See you soon. Daniel out."

"Sir?" The salutation was back and so was the second in command. Yet again with that one word Sam had brought them both back to reality with a jolt.

"Let's get back to the 'gate before Teal'c and Daniel leave without us Carter." The colonel mask slipped back into place just a little too easily. "Need a hand Major?" He didn't expect an affirmative answer, Sam wasn't one to be downed by a twisted ankle.

"Yes actually sir, my ankle's a little worse than I thought." She hopped over to him and he took her arm over his shoulders. Sam turned her arm imperceptibly so the inside of her wrist was beneath Jack's fingertips. He felt the pulse beating steadily. Jack turned his head to look at Sam but she was concentrating on not falling over the roots on the path as they moved forward.

After crossing the river with some difficulty, Jack grabbed Sam's wrists again pulling her over to him so they could resume their awkward gait - "Still alive over there Carter?"

"Fine sir. Just fine." She smiled up at him.

They reached the 'gate some time later to the relief of one very damp archaeologist and a rather grumpy Jaffa. Jack offloaded Sam onto Teal'c as Daniel dialled the 'gate.

"Is she all right?" Daniel asked Jack as they followed the other pair up the steps.

"She's fine. She's just fine." Jack said with a slight smile before stepping through the shimmering horizon.

_**I'm travelling a lot at the moment so this was a little bit of a rushed job, but I like it all the same. Hope everyone enjoyed it and of course, HAPPY SHIPMAS!**_


	2. Chapter 2

The 'gate shut down behind them as SG-1 stumbled down the ramp, still dripping water from their ponchos. Jack walked determinedly away from the small group as Sam struggled to remove her sopping poncho. Daniel watched as Teal'c helped the injured major pull off the offending article and puzzled at the sight of the commanding officer disappearing through the door.

"You all right Sam?" Daniel asked, wondering if she would shed any light on the colonel's behaviour.

"Fine Daniel, just can't get this damn... thing... off." With a final tug from Teal'c the plastic came free of her head but not without soaking her already damp hair in the process. "Fantastic, just add bad hair day to my list of things that have gone wrong today."

"Oh yeah, how is the ankle by the way?"

"It's fine Daniel." She took one wobbling step down the ramp before falling into Teal'c's arms. "Okay, maybe fine is a bit of an overestimation. Ouch." She grimaced as the Jaffa helped her hobble to the door of the room.

Daniel silently wondered to himself why Jack wasn't here to help Sam. It was unusual, to say the least, that he'd disappeared so quickly. He shook it off, putting it down to the colonel's bad mood from the morning.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Teal'c watched as Sam made her way rather awkwardly to stand in the elevator between himself and Jack. This was no easy task with her crutches. He noticed that Jack was trying his very hardest to not look at Sam and that she seemed just as uneasy around him. The silence in the small space was palpable. Teal'c guessed that something had passed between the two officers during their mission that day. He decided to test his theory.

"I believe the commissary is serving chocolate cake today. O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter would you care to join me?"

"Erm, sorry Teal'c but I think I'm just going to head home and try to warm up after today. The ankle's not great either." Sam trailed off.

Jack risked a glance at her and Teal'c didn't miss the guilty look that passed across the younger man's face. Jack looked up at Teal'c, not realising that he had been observed looking at the major.

"No can do T, first clear night for weeks, going to spend some time on my roof with a few cold ones." The smile that followed was forced and Teal'c knew for sure that something untoward had passed between the two. It was very unusual for O'Neill to turn down the sugary snack that he appeared to love. Teal'c knew he wasn't going to find any new information from the two humans in his company.

"I shall ask Daniel Jackson instead. I wish you both a good evening." And with a graceful bow and impeccable timing, the big Jaffa left the elevator as the doors opened on the floor where he would find said archaeologist; perhaps he would have more information on what had occurred between the two officers.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Nope. This was definitely not one of his better ideas, thought Jack. And yet, somehow he was climbing out of his truck and heading towards Carter's house. The last half an hour in fact had all seemed to have happened without him really having control over his own body. And there, it was happening again. His hand was raising of its own accord and knocking on her door. What did it think it was doing? His actions in the forest earlier in the day hadn't really had anything to do with the more reasonable part of his mind either. Damn it. He would not and could not blame all of these actions on how much the nightmares of Carter dying had scared him. Although that would be an easy solution. No. He put it down to a lack of sleep. Caused by those damn nightmares. Before he could berate the voices at war within his own head, the door opened and a rather lovely sight greeted him. One Major Samantha Carter wrapped up in a duvet.

"Sir? Not meaning to sound impertinent, but, what are you doing here?" She looked slightly awkward but Jack saw the cogs turning in the amazing Carter brain as she realised the reason behind his visit. How did she always see right through him? The moment of this realisation was clear as her face relaxed into a small smile.

"Well, funny thing actually, I was out driving, in my car, and I ended up here." He offered up a weak smile.

"Huh. Funny." She smirked. "Well you'd better come in. Coffee?" She turned and started hobbling towards the kitchen. The crutches were abandoned to the side of the door.

"Erm, yeah but you'd better sit down Carter, I can sort my own coffee." He followed closely behind her, smiling slightly at the duvet trailing on the ground.

"Ok, well, I'll just be in the living room. The fire's on."

Jack moved around the kitchen making two cups of coffee while silently berating himself for letting the voices get the better of his judgement and putting him in this position. That position being in the home of his (very cute) second in command that he had completely inappropriate feelings for and who was, at this moment, curled up in a duvet by a roaring fire. Oh he was in trouble. You're here for one reason. Just get it over with and leave. It's not that difficult, he told himself.

"So Carter," he said as he stepped from the kitchen into the living room, "how's the ankle doing?"

"Not great sir, Janet says I'll be off it for a week or so. But you already knew that, so why are you really here?" She took the coffee from him and he thought he noticed a slight look of mischief in her eyes. Oh she was going to make him work for this.

He sat on the chair opposite her and stared into the glowing fire. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Carter. For losing control like that. It wasn't fair on either of us."

He looked at her and watched as she tried to school her features.

"Look sir, it's not the first time I've been dressed down by a CO." Jack thought he caught a glimpse of a blush rise in her pale cheeks at the words 'dressed down'. She could be cruel sometimes.

"Err, look Carter, that's not exactly what I was referring to..." He deserved the grief she was giving him. And besides if he went along with it, she might be more inclined to forgive him.

"I know, sir." Her simple response was accompanied by a shy smile and an earnest look. He knew she was done with the game now. That her need at the time had been as great as his. It was all they needed to say to understand one another, their shared look communicating everything they couldn't and probably shouldn't put into words.

The moment ended when Jack noticed that Sam was shivering.

"Carter you're still cold?" He attempted to keep the worry from his voice but failed miserably.

"I'm fine sir, just need to put another log on the fire." She made to get up but Jack was already at her side. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder, passively telling her to stay there. He then moved to the fire, placing another log on it before returning to Sam.

"There, should warm up in no time." He tightened the duvet around her slight form as she yawned widely. "I'll leave you to sleep Carter, ring me if you need anything." She lay down slowly. He turned to leave but before he could take a step, he felt a cold hand on his wrist.

"Will you stay with me sir?" A pause. "For... for just a minute." Sam's voice was small and unsure and something within Jack gave way. He didn't say anything, just bundled her up and pulled her body towards his. Her head rested below his chin as he relaxed back into the sofa. The heat from his body and from the duvet on top of them both soon warmed Sam's cold figure. But she didn't move and neither did he. Jack soon realised that Sam was asleep but he couldn't bear to move her. Something within him felt at peace, more at peace than it had since the kidnapping. He relished how right this felt but at the same time how wrong that was as well. They'd come so close today, so close to stepping over the boundary that they'd spent the last two years setting up between them. How easy it had been for them. And now, again, it had been so easy for them to find their way into each other's arms, even if it was only for comfort. Jack knew that for anybody else, in any other profession that would have been a good sign, but for them and for what they did it was the worst possible thing.

"Carter." He had to put an end to this. No matter how good it felt.

"Mhmm?" Was the mumbled reply.

"Carter, I need to leave. You know things to do, _Simpsons_ to watch, that kind of thing." He gently lifted her away from his side, laying her down on the sofa with a cushion beneath her head.

"Mkay." Her eyes fluttered vaguely before she fell back to sleep.

Jack looked at her sadly. No, this definitely had to stop. No more slip ups, neither of them could afford it. Their job was just too important.

With a final glance from the hall, Jack stepped out of the door into the biting wind, immediately pushing down the urge to return to the warmth of Sam, the memory of her warm skin against his would have to suffice.

**A/N: This chapter was written on request as a follow-up to the first, I didn't really think it would come out this angsty, but hey it's me, so it happened.  
**

**A/N 2: Unfortunately I got bitten by another plot bunny so there will be a third chapter that will DEFINITELY wrap this story up. Will hopefully post it in the next couple of days.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Sam awoke shivering slightly. The thick duvet had slipped off her shoulders and the fire had died down. The pain in her ankle had returned as she guessed that the medication Janet had given her earlier had worn off.

_Had it all been a dream?_ She thought, trying to shake off the fogginess in her mind. The last thing she remembered she'd been falling asleep in the arms of her commanding officer. She shook her head. No that couldn't be right. She tried to remember how that might have happened. She sat up suddenly thinking about how she'd stretched her hand out to grab his wrist – the groggy part of her mind had thought it was a good idea at the time. Unfortunately that was the part of her mind that had taken over thanks to the drugs.

Sam sat with her head in her hands as she remembered the way she'd let Jack dig himself into a hole with his apology. It had just been too much fun to see him struggling. She shivered again and wished that his arms were still around her, still comforting and protecting her. She pushed the thought away quickly. Those kinds of thoughts were far too dangerous and if the meds had worn off she had absolutely no excuse for letting them slip out.

And yet, her mind wandered yet again to that forest and the way he'd pushed her against the tree. The feel of his whole body against hers, the desperate way he'd held her wrist and how much she'd been willing to let him hold her like that. Just like she'd let him hold her on the sofa an hour before. How could she resolve this for herself? Was the only reason for his actions the abduction? Yes, she told herself, she'd had horrible nightmares since then but it wasn't the first time it had happened. But it was the first time that Jack had told her that he'd had nightmares about losing her, about finding her dead. Nightmares that were so reflective of her own that it scared her. In her own, she was screaming for his help and could hear him but he never arrived in time, the doctors strapping her down and slicing her open. But she hadn't told him that - there was no need to add to his worries. She got up slowly and wrapped the duvet around her again.

As Sam made a fresh cup of coffee, she wondered at the fact that he was having nightmares about her at all. Sam hoped that her actions in the forest had reassured him that she was alive and that she wasn't leaving him any time soon. It would be enough for her to provide him with that solace. The almost kiss was only because in that moment she'd needed to feel alive as well. The weeks before had been full of her own nightmares and it had been all too easy to let him take the lead. Somehow the idea that he still held those feelings for her was comforting. She knew now that he would do anything to get to her. Perhaps she had begun to doubt the feelings that had been expressed by the Colonel two years earlier. But the revelations in the forest (not to mention his actions) made it clear in her mind that he still cared about her a great deal and the passion between them still existed. She would have to be careful from now on. She couldn't allow a slip up like that again, but then she hoped that they had both managed to find some resolution.

Sam took a couple more of the painkillers Janet had prescribed and hobbled back to her place on the sofa. Forgetting about the fire, she took another sip of her - now cold - coffee before slipping back into the place where the Colonel had held her not two hours before. Once more, she wished that he was still there to offer his warm comfort. She attempted to push the thoughts away again as sleep came over her. She dreamed not of hospital beds and scalpel-wielding doctors but of a peaceful breeze by open water and a pair of strong arms holding her close to a warm and familiar body.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Jack visited Sam several times the week she was off but never alone. He was always with Daniel and Teal'c. Sam was glad of this as she still didn't trust herself on the meds Janet had prescribed and really didn't want a repeat of the sofa incident (as she liked to call it) as lovely as it had been.

Now she was back at the SGC doing physio to help her ankle and catching up on the work that had backed up in her absence. Sam had been studiously avoiding the Colonel when she wasn't with Daniel and Teal'c; she was no longer embarrassed about what had happened as Jack had made it clear there was nothing to be worried about in his own particular way. No, it wasn't embarrassment it was just a matter of not trusting herself and the fact that the memory of what had happened in the forest was just too close to the surface. She found her heart racing any time that he came close and neither of them could afford for anyone to find out about what had happened. So she'd been leaving him alone and apparently he'd had the same idea.

Sam wandered into the commissary to grab something before heading back to her lab. As she picked up her tray with something on it that looked mostly inedible, she spotted Jack at a table by himself. She realised that she wouldn't be able to sit at a separate table without the rumour mill going into overdrive about why she wasn't sitting with her team mate. She sighed inwardly and walked towards him.

"May I join you sir?"

Jack looked up at her, a smile passing across his features at the sight of her and he reached a hand to the seat opposite his own. Yep, her heart rate was definitely rising. Not helpful.

"Thanks." Sam said as she sat down awkwardly.

"Ankle still not a hundred percent Carter?" Genuine concern shined in his eyes as Sam looked up from her food.

"Getting there sir. Physio once a day is just a bit hard on it but I should be fit for duty by the end of next week." She tried to sound cheerful.

"Good. Can't be very easy to get to sleep with the strapping though?" His tone was nonchalant but she knew what he was really asking. She looked into his eyes before answering. Again, she could see nothing but concern in the brown eyes across the table from her.

"Actually I've been sleeping on the sofa. Much more comfortable." She hoped that he would understand. That he would see that she appreciated what he'd done that day in her home. Sam noticed a small smile creeping at the side of his mouth.

"Oh really Carter?" His eyes twinkled but he wasn't giving anything more away verbally.

Sam was glad that their ease in conversing was returning – their unique way of communicating without saying a word hadn't been lost during all that had happened in the last week. She needed to know that he was ok though, that he'd at least got some resolution.

"How about you sir? Managed to sort out the problem with your alarm clock?" She hoped that the vague reference to his excuse for not sleeping well would serve her purpose. She looked at him earnestly, willing him to understand her real question. Luckily, the look he shot her told her that he understood – that he was grateful that she would ask whether the nightmares had gone. The look was honest and open and she knew that he realised that his answer could provide resolution for them both.

"Oh I sleep just fine now Carter. Just fine." And Sam smiled as she dug into the plate of food before her. 'Just fine' was just about the best answer she could have hoped for.

**A/N: This really is the final chapter. Really. Promise. I struggle writing for Sam so this was a challenge for me. Thanks to _CSIGurlie07 _for the gentle nudges in the right direction.**


End file.
